On June 17, China officially unveiled its newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian. Fujian is China’s third aircraft carrier and the first to be designed and built entirely domestically. It symbolizes the rapid expansion of China’s military and is seen as a potential rival to the US Navy’s nuclear-powered supercarriers. But China isn’t the only Asian country getting a new carrier this year. In the last days of July, the Indian Navy took delivery of its new aircraft, the Vikrant. The Vikrant is also indigenously designed and built and its arrival is a major milestone for India, which is Asia’s second largest military power and shares a long and disputed border with China. In addition to their many improvements over their predecessors, both carriers are significant firsts for their countries. It will be years before either one is fully functional, but here’s how the two flattops stack up.
Fujian
China’s aircraft carrier Fujian during its launch in Shanghai on June 17, 2022. Li Tang/VCG via Getty Images
A Type 003 carrier, the Fujian is approximately 1,035 feet long and displaces approximately 80,000 tons fully loaded. This makes it slightly larger than its predecessors, the Type 001 Liaoning and Type 002 Shandong, which were about 1,000 feet long and displaced 60,000 to 70,000 tons. The Liaoning is a Soviet-designed Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier that China purchased in 1998 and extensively modified before commissioning in 2012. The Shandong was based on the Liaoning and entered service in 2019. All three of China’s carriers use conventional engines instead of nuclear reactors, limiting the power they can produce and the time they can spend at sea. Among the Fujian’s upgrades is a command island that is slimmer and more refined than its predecessors, freeing up space in the flight deck. The most striking change, however, is the replacement of the short take-off but aborted recovery (STOBAR) system and the required ski jump ramp used on both the Liaoning and Shandong. Fujian has a completely flat deck and three catapults, reflecting China’s effort to adopt the catapult-assisted take-off but arrested recovery (CATOBAR) system used on US aircraft carriers. Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong. Reuters STOBAR allows jets to take off on smaller decks, but limits the amount of fuel and weapons they can carry on takeoff. This is particularly problematic for China, as its only fixed-wing aircraft in service, the J-15, is already the heaviest carrier-based fighter in service. A CATOBAR system can launch jets with larger payloads and more fuel. It can also launch larger aircraft, such as those suitable for airborne early warning and control. Parts of the Fujian’s flight deck were covered during the launch ceremony, hiding its catapults, but it is believed to use an electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) that can launch aircraft more efficiently and more frequently than steam-powered catapults. Until Fujian, the only aircraft with EMALS were the US Navy’s nuclear-powered Ford class. Chinese sailors’ unfamiliarity with the CATOBAR system and the challenges the US Navy has had with EMALS suggest it will be some time before Fujian realizes its full potential. The exact size and composition of Fujian’s air wing is not yet known, but it is expected to be larger than the approximately 36 aircraft carried by both the Liaoning and Shandong, and will include J-15 fighters and Z-18 helicopters. In the future, Fujian’s air wing may include J-35 stealth fighters (the naval version of the FC-31), Z-20F helicopters and, thanks to EMALS, KJ-600 airborne early warning aircraft and even aircraft-based drones .
Vikrant
The aircraft carrier Vikrant was handed over to the Indian Navy on 28 July 2022. Indian Navy
Vikrant was officially launched in 2013 and is expected to enter service on August 15, but it won’t be India’s first or only carrier. India had ex-British carriers in service from 1961 to 1997 and from 1987 to 2016, and INS Vikramaditya, a modified Kiev-class carrier purchased from Russia and commissioned in 2013, is India’s current flagship navy. At 860 feet long and with a full displacement of around 45,000 tons, the Vikrant is the largest warship India has ever built. It was designed and built by India’s largest shipbuilder, Cochin Shipyard Limited, and 76 percent of its components were developed domestically, according to India’s defense ministry. The Vikrant has a crew of around 160 officers and 1,400 sailors and is powered by four gas turbines capable of producing 88 megawatts of power and pushing it to a top speed of 28 knots. It can carry around 30 jets and helicopters, and like INS Vikramaditya, uses STOBAR system with ski jump ramp. Indian aircraft carrier Vikrant. Indian Navy Vikrant’s initial air wing is expected to consist of MiG-29Ks, the transport version of the Russian-made MiG-29. The jet has served on the INS Vikramaditya, but its poor track record has led India to seek 26 new fighter jets – the finalists being Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet and Dassault Aviation’s Rafale-M. The F/A-18 has been the backbone of US Navy carrier aviation for decades, and Boeing has proven its ability to operate on STOBAR decks in India. The Rafale-M has operated on the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, which uses catapults, and has been demonstrated on the Indian STOBAR system. (The Indian Air Force already uses the Rafale.) India’s HAL twin-engine fighter has also been suggested as an indigenous aircraft for the Vikrant. The air wing of the new carrier is likely to be rounded off by a mix of KA-31, MH-60R and HAL Dhruv helicopters. INS Vikrant is expected to play an important role in strengthening the capabilities of the Indian Navy in the face of the growing Chinese threat in the waters around India.
